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Several days later, the Marauders and I made one of our biggest and best discoveries: The famous Room of Requirement. Remus and I worked tirelessly for half an hour trying to add it to The Marauders Map but apparently it is unplottable. Disappointing, but only a small price to pay for use of such an incredible place.
When we walked in, we were astounded to find shelves upon shelves of priceless, ancient books that contained invaluable information on animagi. Upon further inspection, we found posters on the walls of werewolves, dogs, stags, rats and wolves.
A few minutes later, another bookshelf appeared and Moony happily picked up a book on werewolves and settled into a crimson armchair that had suddenly manifested.
After concentrating for several moments, I made a thick fluffy scarlet carpet cover the bare wooden floorboards and decorated the plain white walls with intricate cream and gold panelling. A roaring open fireplace appeared, casting a warm glow on the dim room. Several candles and lamps later, the room was much cosier and almost resembled the Gryffindor common room.
I noticed Peter had a funny expression on his chubby face. He looked puzzled and studied me for a moment, debating internally whether or not to voice his problem.
"What's up Pete?" I asked.
"It's not working for me", he confessed.
"What's not working for you?" Padfoot asked curiously.
"The Room of Requirement. You made all of this, didn't you?" He said, gesturing to the Gryffindor theme.
"Well yes", I said, thinking, "Wormtail, what exactly did you want?"
"A cheese sandwich and a slice of chocolate cake." He said dreamily.
"No wonder it didn't work dumbo, Food is the first of the five principal exceptions to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration", James snorted, shaking his head. "Honestly Wormtail, you're rubbish at transfiguration. Food is one of the few things that the room can't provide."
"Oh", Peter said, disappointment lacing his voice, "Can we go to the kitchens afterwards then?"
"Guys, shouldn't you get started?" Moony called, his eyes fixated upon the book on his lap.
"Right, meditation time", I groaned.
The four of us took a potion. It had taken us two months to brew and required us to source the most bizarre of ingredients. We had to order some such as Manticore toe nail and Thestral saliva from the blackmarket in Knockturn Alley. We had used a post office owl and Snape's name in case the order was traced to us. It hadn't been easy, but we're not Marauders for nothing.
Luckily, we made enough so that we only need brew it once. It was designed to enhance concentration and was henceforth banned alongside Felix Felicis to be used in official competitions or examinations. It also made the animagus meditation far easier and helped strengthen the connection between human and inner animal.
We sat cross-legged on mis-matched cushions beside each other, our eyelids drooping as the potion took effect.
I saw a large, tawny, amber eyed wolf trot through snow in a coniferous forest. Its ears were alert and perked as a twig snapped. A moment later a magnificent stag peered around the trunk of an ancient oak tree. It peered at the wolf through familiar hazel eyes. A gigantic, bear-like ebony grim stood beside the wolf. Its eyes were a stormy grey and reflected the forest around it. A small, fat insignificant grey rat ran between the wolf's legs. Surprisingly, the wolf growled at it, the dog's hackles rose and the stag blinked out of existence followed by the wolf and then the dog aged horribly. His fur was patched and matted, he was badly scarred and his eyes told stories of the horrors that he had lived.
My eyes snapped open and I saw that the boys were already transfiguring themselves. Beads of sweat trickled down my forehead and I wiped them with my sleeve.
James was almost there, her just had his head to transfigure. Sirius had his arms and torso transformed. Peter was working on his tail.
It got easier each time you did it and soon I had tawny fur along my back, neck, arms and legs. My ears and tail were changed too. Slowly, with the aid of diagrams, extra potions and several spells, my fingers and toes webbed together to form paws. Sharp, talon like claws capable of tearing through flesh appeared and fur erupted across my hand.
I was so distracted by my new paws that I didn't notice the last but of James' nose disappear until Sirius let out a weird whooping noise.
"PRONGS is PRONGS!" He shouted.
Indeed he was. He was colossal. He absolutely towered over me and was even taller than Sirius. His antlers were massive and would have been intimidating if I hadn't known it was James. His mahogany coat faded into a lighter brown towards his stomach and light dapples danced across his fur.
He stepped forward, and nudged me. A small step ladder appeared beside him so I used it to climb on to his back.
I had ridden horses before, but that was with a saddle and this was much higher up. Without warning, James took off, galloping at top speed through the track that had manifested before us. His huge strides ate up the ground and our surroundings blurred as we raced past them. The air whipped through my hair and James let out a joyous snort, throwing a playful buck in that almost unseated me completely.
Remus, Sirius and Peter were laughing and clapping. James came to a sudden halt and lowered himself down so that I could jump off his back. I rubbed his muzzle affectionately.
"Are you able to change back?" Moony asked him.
As quick as lightning, James replaced the stag before us.
"I certainly can!" He said confidently. "That was awesome! I felt so free. The world actually seemed like a better place. There was no war, no death eaters, no Voldikins, just freedom."
Emboldened by James' success, we began practicing with renewed vigour. We were less wary of getting stuck as we could see that it was possible to do. James coached us, giving us useful little tips on how far to go.
Before long, my entire body was covered in a thick coat of tawny hair. I finally succeeded in transfiguring my arms and legs too but I had yet to mould my body into the correct shape. I was still trying to work up the courage to change my head but I was almost there. Faolan was almost ready.
